Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation presented by Maslow in 1943.

This theory proposes five types of needs which must be met for an individual to grow to his full potential. These five types of needs are: 1) physiological needs, 2) safety needs, 3) love and belonging needs, 4) esteem needs, and 5) self-actualization needs.

Hierarchy of needs – five levels of needs

Maslow called it the hierarchy of needs because he believed that these needs must be fulfilled in a specific order for an individual to grow to his full potential. Therefore, he presented these needs in the right sequence starting from the lower-level (or most basic) needs and progressing to the higher-level needs.

The main assumption of the theory is that to achieve the higher-level needs, the lower-level needs must first be fulfilled. In other words, each lower-level need must be fulfilled before moving on to fulfilling the higher-level need. This is because if a lower-level need is unmet, the higher-level need cannot be attained.

The needs in the proposed order (from lower-level needs to higher-level needs) are: 1) physiological needs, 2) safety needs, 3) love and belonging needs, 4) esteem needs, and 5) self-actualization needs. As noted earlier, to activate a higher-level need, the lower-level needs must first be fulfilled, therefore the need fulfilment must follow this proposed sequence of needs.

Physiological needs are biological needs such as the need for food, water, sex, and sleep. These are the most basic needs and are important for the survival and normal physiological performance of the person. Therefore, these needs must first be fulfilled before the higher-level needs are fulfilled. This is because if these needs are not fulfilled, the person will not be able to behave normally as a physiological or biological being.  Once these needs are met and the individual becomes able to perform normally (as a physiological or biological being), then he can benefit from the higher-level needs in a more proper way if fulfilled.  

Every individual requires a safe and secure environment to perform properly. This means that the individual should be provided safety from possible external threats and harms. This involves maintaining peace and order, personal freedom, personal security, emotional security, health and wellbeing. These needs can be fulfilled through different techniques at the microlevel depending on the circumstances, however, at a larger level, it may require enacting laws and sensitizing law enforcement agencies for peacebuilding at large.

Safety needs come on the second number in the hierarchy of needs which means that the needs coming on first number (physiological needs) must have been fulfilled first for an individual to benefit from fulfilment of safety-needs in a more proper way. For instance, an induvial is hungry for many days, if he is provided a safe and secure environment, he would not be able to perform normally in the provided safety because he must first be fed so that he can perform normally (as a biological being) and can benefit from the provided safety in a more meaningful way.

After physiological needs and safety-needs are satisfied, the third-level needs get activated – love and belongingness needs.

An individual needs to be provided with love and affection to develop a healthy personality. This need is fulfilled by good interpersonal relationships where parents, teachers, friends, and other close people express trust and provide love to the individual. This enables the individual to develop appropriate attitudes towards others. Fulfillment of love needs instills in the individual a sense of belongingness to the larger group that he or she belongs to. Thus, the individual views himself as an integral member of the group and strive to meet the social expectations of the group as well as to perform well in general to become a productive social being or citizen.

Esteem needs are related to the need to develop a sense of self-worth by realizing that others value your competence and ability.

Every person has an ideal self-image – based on high standards of behavior – the way he wants to see himself. Therefore, the person strives to behave in accordance with his ideal self-image. For an individual to perform productively, his ideal self-image must be maintained. However, this requires an acknowledgement from others such as others must value the competence and ability of that person so that he can develop a sense of self-worth. In simple words, others must show respect and appreciation to the person so that he can see himself as an important member of the group and can perform well. If this need is not fulfilled, the person may suffer from an inferiority complex.

Maslow categorised esteem needs into lower-version and higher-version needs. The lower-version need includes the desire to be respected and valued by others and to seek attention from others. This type of need can be seen in the form of people’s desire to become famous among others and prestigious in the eyes of others. On the other hand, the higher-version need is the internal need for self-respect which manifests in the form of desire for gaining competence, physical strength, intelligence, independence, or knowledge. This motivates individuals to engage in behaviours to develop or improve personal qualities.

The term actualization means turning something into its real (actual) form. The term self-actualization means turning one’s self into one’s real self. In easy words, it means to reach one’s full potential.

Therefore, these needs are meant for self-actualization so that an individual can grow to his full potential and capabilities. This happens when all the lower-level needs have been fulfilled. Once all the lower-level needs are fulfilled, it enables the individual to self-actualize or to reach his full potential.

For instance, an individual wants to become an ideal parent. All his all lower-level needs must have been first fulfilled in order to be able to behave as an ideal parent. Another example, if a person wants to become a successful businessman, his all lower-level needs must have been first met to be able to become a successful businessman. Similarly, if an individual wants to become a successful student (to perform academically in the best way), his lower-levels needs must have been first fulfilled, which would enable him to perform academically well.

Self-actualization can be understood as an end product after fulfillment of lower-level needs but self-actualization can have its own needs, depending on what the individual intends to achieve. For instance, an individual, wanting to become a successful student, requires quality education to be provided by his teachers and an academic institution; and good study resources (e.g., books, online-study resources), etc. However, the provision of these needs (such as quality education and study resources) would only help the individual to become a successful student if his lower-level needs have been first fulfilled.

Maslow divides the above five needs into two categories: 1) deficiency needs, and 2) growth needs.

The first four needs (physiological, safety, love and belongingness, and esteem needs) are deficiency needs. The fifth need (self-actualization need) is a growth need. This categorization is important because this theory also explains how these needs affect the motivation of the individual, as follows.

Deficiency needs are needs caused by a lack of something either physiological or psychological. The more a person is deprived of something (physiological or psychological), the more he will be motivated to engage in behaviours that satisfy the needs. Once the need is met, the motivation decreases.

Growth needs are not caused by any deprivation but are caused by a desire to grow. The important point is that once these needs are met, the motivation does not decrease, rather it continues to be present and become even stronger. For instance, an individual wants to become a successful businessman. Once he becomes a successful businessman, his motivation does not stop, rather the individual continues striving to become more and more successful (such as to increase the economic outcomes of his business).